April 8-14th is National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week!

Home » News » April 8 12th Is National Animal Care And Control Appreciation Week

What exactly is the job of Animal Care and Control Personnel (also known as Animal Control Officers)? Aren’t they “just dog catchers”? Visions of the dog catcher taking Tramp away to ‘the pound’ in “Lady and the Tramp” are what many people think of when Animal Control Officers are mentioned. This image couldn’t be further from the truth. Just like other public safety and law enforcement agents, Animal Care and Control Personnel are devoted, compassionate people who risk their lives to ensure the safety and care of wild animals, pets, and people.

Animal Care and Control Personnel provide many services in your community including:

Assisting with injured, sick, or stray dogs – often reuniting them with their owners without ever going to ‘the pound’

Educating the public about the importance of pet identification with microchips or collar tags

Investigating and enforcing Animal Control By-laws in communities (e.g., off leash dogs, barking, licensing of dogs/cats)

Assisting other authorities such as police, or other emergency services and public health agencies when necessary, to protect animals and people

Protecting the public from diseases such as rabies

Animal Care and Control personnel rescue helpless animals from situations of abuse, starvation, injury, and disease. It is a difficult and often thankless job. Seeing an animal suffer is difficult for animal lovers, and Animal Control Officers are definitely animal lovers. They frequently encounter situations where animals are suffering. They put themselves in hazardous and sometimes dangerous environments in order to protect or rescue wild animals or pets.

But… they love their jobs! They give animals a voice. They are rewarded when they see abused or neglected animals recover and live a happy life in a loving home, or when they can safely reunite lost pets to their grateful owners.

Animal Care and Control personnel provide important services to their communities and should be recognized for the work and help they provide that no one else could, or would, even know how to do. We thank all the Animal Care and Control personnel for the hard work they do in communities each and every day. If you see an officer in your community, say “Thank You!”

LifeLearn News

Note: This article, written by LifeLearn Animal Health (LifeLearn Inc.) is licensed to this practice for the personal use of our clients. Any copying, printing or further distribution is prohibited without the express written permission of Lifelearn. Please note that the news information presented here is NOT a substitute for a proper consultation and/or clinical examination of your pet by a veterinarian.

Resources

Call the Huronia Veterinary Emergency Clinic 115 Bell Farm Road, Unit 110 Barrie — (705) 722-0377 They are open every evening from 7:00pm to 8:00am, throughout the entire weekend, and every Holiday. www.hvecbarrie.com